Bye-Bye Dad Jeans: C8 Corvette Attracts Younger, More Diverse Buyers
Switch to rear mid-engine layout, improved interior keys to C8 Corvette’s success in pulling in new buyers from outside older demographics.
There’s a stereotype or two once tied to the Corvette. Usually, the person behind the wheel steps out of their ‘Vette upon a pair of New Balances. They might be wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a straw hat. And, of course, they might be older than, say, 50. Not to mention the golf clubs in the trunk or passenger seat. Yep. There was a time when all of those things were true about America’s sports car.
Until the C8 Corvette arrived, that is. According to Muscle Cars & Trucks, the placement of the 6.2-liter LT2 V8 isn’t the only thing new to this generation. So, too, are its buyers.
“It’s definitely grown in a lot of perfect ways,” Chevy’s marketing boss Tony Johnson told MC&S. “So we’ve expanded out to new markets that previous generations maybe hadn’t touched. I think the mid-engine nature and the premium interior have really positioned this as like a real supercar, not just an exotic supercar, and I think that’s what’s really leading to a lot of that.”
Johnson says the new customer base is younger, richer, and more diverse than recent generations of the Corvette have attracted. Meanwhile, older buyers are heading towards the Mustang, and the youngest (for now) still pick Dodge. What’s more interesting about the C8 Era’s newer, younger base, though, is what they’re bringing to the local Chevy dealership in order to bring home a new ‘Vette.
“We’re seeing a lot of trade-ins coming in from Porsche, Ferrari, and some of the other exotic supercar makers, which again, I think this vehicle is primed to go after with its mid-engine layout and that premium interior,” said Johnson.
According to GM Authority, this tale checks out further. GM North America’s VP, Steve Hill, said in January the average median income of a given C8 Corvette buyer is $76,000 higher than that of the C7 Corvette buyer. The likes of Ferrari and Porsche may have given the ‘Vette a glance before. Now, though, they truly have something to fear, as America’s sports car is now the world’s.
Photos: Chevrolet
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